Hello there internet! Anneke Goodwin here posting on her blog for the fist time in (calculating...calculating...) 60 something days! And when I started this I told myself I would post every week! HAHHAHhahahahhhaaa.... With starting high school, making new friends, hanging out with my current friends, keeping in touch with my Calgary friends, spending time with my family, finding time to read, and working on a secret writing project (muahhahahaahaha), I have had absolutely ZERO time to work on a blog post! However here I am, on my weekend finally sitting down to work on one, and I couldn't be more happy.
Today's blog post is going to be a little different than my usual ones, it will be more laid back and a little more narcissistic (but not too much more than usual)! My creative juices aren't flowing today, and also there has been so much going on in my life that I felt I should do a life update and a sort of what-it-was-like-for-me-starting-high-school blog post! I hope you guys like it and without further ado lets get into it!
On September 10, 2020, I started my high school experience with quadmesters, only going to school half the week with masks, and only half of the students at my high school there at the same time I am. It was and has been freaking insane. However, no matter how bizarre it was, there was no way in hell my parents weren't going to send me. Aside from the handful of high school students doing online courses, the majority consensus was for parents to send their kids to high school. Elementary school was a different story for different reasons, but almost all teenagers are doing in-person high school. It's an experience that no one would want to miss, not even the weird version we're getting!
And as much as I was expecting this year to absolutely suck, I have been freaking loving it! Aside from the workload which I will get to in a minute, the half in-person half online style of high school is actually my favorite thing ever. As a fairly fashionable dresser, five cute looking outfits a week is really hard! This way, I can chill in my sweats on the days I'm at home, and then rock a totally adorable outfit the other days I'm at school! Another reason I love the mixed model of school is because it makes the days I go to school more special. It has honestly made me excited to go to school and I constantly have something to look forward to!
Another thing is that because of the cohorts (they divided the students into two groups based on last names), I now never have to see a fairly large group of annoying people ever! All of my friends are in my cohort, thank God, and also our cohort is by far the better of the two! It may not seem like such a blessing, but once you've gone to my middle school for two years you understand!
Moving on from the more social aspects of high school to the more academic, let me next discuss with you how these quadmesters work! Instead of me taking four classes for five months two times throughout the school year, this year, along with every other high school student in Ontario, I have been taking two classes at a time for two and a half months four times during the year! It is WAY more fast paced, and like everything else this year, I was expecting to hate it. I mean, who was expecting to enjoy learning a unit a week with a test and final project every week?? However, I was once again proven wrong and I have been thoroughly enjoying this new way of life! I was in NO way exaggerating when I said I had a test and unit project a week, that is literally my new reality, but I've really been enjoying what I've been learning, and the quick moving pace is nice! We don't waste any time on extra un-important worksheets and information. We're taught the necessities, and we're taught them well!
We spend a full week on each class (e.g. one week french, next week art, one week french....) which is also nice because you're able to really be focused and dedicated to one subject, and you're not distracted with three other projects from three other different classes. Overall, I can say with confidence that I have been loving high school!
It's an insanely weird time for everyone (God, if I hear one more person say that to me I'll die), but high schoolers seem to be making the most of it. Social distancing is a whole other subject on its own, and its something that no one really takes part in. At the beginning I thought it was just the popular kids who have that "no cares given" attitude, but it's not just them. Nobody does.
I, for example, stay as far as possible from people in school obviously, and me and my small group of friends are literally the only people I know who havent just given up and gone inside each others houses and hugged. We still social distance, and we haven't bubbled together, however just naturally over time, me and my two closest friends, have gotten slightly closer spatially. We only ever hang out outside, but were not ALWAYS six feet apart. We aren't hugging or touching of course, but it's impossible for people to hang out with their friends and the people they love at six feet apart every day of the week for eight whole months without getting a little close. And with the cases rising it worries me. What if I give them COVID? What if they give it to me? It causes a lot of anxiety and guilt whenever I hang out with them, but also a sense of longing. Why can't I just get up right now and give her a hug? It's frustrating, and sad, and my mother's comments about getting COVID and having lifelong affects don't necessarily help.
Life is tough right now, but I'm not hating it! I'm looking forward to Halloween, (which happened just yesterday, I wrote this a while ago!) I'm enjoying the fall weather, and I've been reading a REALLY good book lately (To all the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han. Go. Read. It. Now)! My brother is home from University sooner than expected, and student council elections are coming up next week and I'm running for grade nine rep (UPDATE: I WON!!!!) I've never been so busy with school work in my life, but I'm enjoying it, and I really hope that I can write a "Half way through high school" blog post in a few months and still be able to say the same! I hope you enjoyed this post and weren't too bored by my life!! As always, thank you for reading!
Your authoress,
Anneke C. Goodwin
Everyone after reading this blog post: